When my father came to the United States as a teenager in 1912, on the ship's manifest, the town in Italy where he was from appears to be written as "Elena". I am wondering if this is the same town that is now called "Gaeta" and if so, how can I obtain his birth certificate and my paternal grandparents marriage certificate?

Grazie, Giuseppe! I sent a letter last year to Ufficiao Anagrafe in Gaeta and heard nothing back. A few months ago, I sent another letter to Ufficio dello Stato Civile in Gaeta and still have not heard back.

Is there a way to make certain someone reads my letter and responds to me? Or is it better to plan a future trip and go to the Commune in person?

G,I will definitely let you know when we are returning to Italy again. When we were there, I was told there were a lot of "Lauro's" in the Sorrento area, but we did not have the time to search for them.

Several days ago I sent a message to the corrected email address you gave me, but have not heard back from them. Still waiting.

Hopefully I can locate my father's birth certificate and his parent's marriage certificate in order to proceed with Italian citizenship.